The cost of every funeral has two parts:

• Funeral Directors’ Charges
• Third Party Charges (Disbursements)

These two parts are explained in detail below.

The biggest difference between one funeral director and another is the services they include, or exclude, from their Service Charge. 

CLICK HERE to download our Service Charge Summary and Price

Importantly, we include mortuary care and transportation of the deceased within our Service Charge. After hours transfers of people into our care are also included in our Service Charge.

A ‘Service Charge’ or ‘Professional Fee’ is the standard charge a funeral director applies to every client to cover the cost of the goods and services they provide.

Other charges from the funeral director are:

• COFFIN OR CASKET – Our Australian Made collection of coffins and casket vary in price from $1,290 to $5,390. The average spend is $2,600. We also offer imported Batesville and Legacy Tribute caskets.
• CEMETERY EQUIPMENT – Some cemeteries only dig the grave or open the vault. The funeral director needs to provide all of the equipment to safely use the site for interment. Our weekday charge for this service is $550.
• AFTER HOURS or extended time surcharges – our service industry award requires overtime payments for staff who work in the evening and on weekends. These additional charges vary depending on the day of the week, the number of staff required to deliver the service and the length of time required.

These are services or items sourced directly from third parties. Importantly, at Frank J Siebert Funeral Directors, we do not mark up the cost of third parties charges.

We will happily order, liaise and coordinate these services on your behalf without any additional charge – that is what our service charge is for! Then all third party charges will appear on our invoice rather than you needing to make lots of individual payments at such a difficult time.

You are, of course, welcome to work directly with and coordinate your own preferred service providers if you wish.

Third parties services and items include:

• BURIAL or CREMATION – Cemeteries and crematoria set their own prices and most make their pricing structure available on their website. For burial, a licence must first be purchased to use the position. Then there is also a cost to prepare the position for interment. For cremation, we will attend to conveying the person to the crematorium and retrieving the ashes on your behalf. We can provide detailed information on request.
• MEDICAL CERTIFICATE – Doctor’s certificates are required for burial and cremation. These certificates are not Medicare schedule items, so doctors can choose to charge for their preparation. These range from $100 to $280 depending on the doctor.
• CREMATION PERMIT – The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages must review the medical certificates to provide a permit for a cremation to take place. The statutory fee is $68.75
• DEATH CERTIFICATE – Once the burial or cremation has taken place, a death is registered with the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The Death Certificate is then generated in approximately 2-3 weeks. The statutory fee is $68.75 per original.
• CELEBRANT – This is the person that leads the service on the day. You can choose from a range of civil celebrants or religious ministers. For example, the average cost for a civil celebrant is $600 and the average cost for a Christian minister is $350.
• VENUE HIRE – You can have a funeral anywhere! Every venue, including churches, will charge a fee for use. We would be pleased to explore your needs, offer some suggestions and provide more detailed information.
• PRESS NOTICES – The Advertiser charges per column centimetre. For example, 4cm is $202; 8cm $334; 12cm $486. You only pay for what you use.
• FLORAL TRIBUTES – You can set a budget for what you wish to spend, and it is not essential to have flowers for a funeral. The average cost for a casket batt of seasonal flowers (107cm) is $350. We use and recommend Mayfair Florist 
• MEMORIAL STATIONERY – Some people like to have memorial cards, bookmarks or seed pouches. You may wish to have Orders of Service or Mass Booklets. We use and recommend In Memorium Productions
• VIDEO & PHOTO PRESENTATIONS – You may wish to prepare your own audio visual presentation, however some venues have strict rules about ‘family prepared’ files. We offer professionally produced presentations from $250 for 40 photographs with music. We use and recommend In Memorium Productions and Digiflix
• AV EQUIPMENT and TECHNICIANS – Not all venues have equipment or people to operate venue equipment. We can source equipment and technicians on your behalf. We use and recommend In Memorium Productions and Digiflix
• LIVESTREAMING, RECORDING and PHOTOGRAPHY – You may wish to share the funeral with people who can’t physically attend, or capture the experience with recording or photography. Photobooks can be a beautiful way to capture such a special family experience. Again, we use and recommend In Memorium Productions and Digiflix
• VEHICLE HIRE – You may wish to have limousine services (sedan, van or stretch) for family members. We use and recommend In Vogue Limousines
• CATERING – Gathering for refreshments is common after services. Some venues provide facilities and catering. Others allow you to source your own caterer. We use and recommend All Occasions Bar and Waiting for all our hosting and catering needs.
• MUSICIANS – If you wish to have live musicians we can source them for you. Some venues have ‘in-house’ musicians, and some families may wish to ask family or friends to assist with music. We have a copyright licence that allows us to play any recorded music at services – we will source this and provide it at no charge.